I’ve been looking at a lot of illustration in the past few weeks which, for me, is a bit like christmas. Why you ask? Well, because in my dreams, I get to commission all of these talented people to illustrate the many stories I currently have out ‘there’ sitting in the vast bottomless in-trays of the demigods that are publishers’ and agents’ editors. Editors who, I’ve discovered, live on a completely different planet where the concept of time versus available life, has yet to be realised.

I’ve been a fan of propaganda art for years and have the beginnings of a poster collection that one day will require its own mini museum. Aesthetically, the combination of knock-out design, typography and (much-mimicked) text just enthralls.

I know it’s not nice to slam other people’s copy efforts, but this one really is screaming out for a virtual red pen. Charles Saatchi’s new show British Art Now has an accompanying catalogue which honestly defies belief. Here’s an excerpt all about the artists:

“Articulated as doublespeak, they hand-make the virtual, cite history in fugue fervour, and find the poetic and enduring in the cacophony of pop cultural din.”

A few years ago, I ran a photography project in a primary school where I took pictures of every single child in school. Using black and white film and focussing each image on just part of their face, we posted all 200 of them as a ‘wall of faces’ covering the entire back wall of the school hall. The kids (and happily the teachers) loved the process and the impact of the final result.

My inspiration for the project was JR, a Parisian photographer and street artist who has been changing landscapes and attitudes for some years now. His work on the Face 2 Face project pastes wonderful images of Palestinian and Israeli citizens side by side in prominent locations on both sides of the wall.

JR’s project ‘Women are Heroes,’ uses the same large-scale format to paste images of Women from Africa, Asia and South America in their own neighbourhoods.

This is fun. A combination of photography, words and self-portraiture delivered with a little help from visitors.

Melissa King’s 365 Word Girl site was launched recently and showcases the results of her new collaborative project as they happen. King, from Sydney Australia, invites you to submit random words to her site. Then, taking 7 words in order for that week, she builds a mini story that in turn directs each weekly self-portrait. So, for example, Week 10 on King’s word schedule shows: Headphone; Smudge; Shrunk; Sepia; Revolutionary; Idealistic; Up. These words will build a short narrative to dictate a new self-portrait (should be interesting) and, if I’ve understood the schedule correctly, Week 10 will be launched this week.

As the name suggests, King intends for this to be a year-long project producing 52 unique and off-beat portraits. Add your own word before the schedule fills up and be a part of the art.

I agree with the article tone that official campaign offerings are more than unimpressive, but I’ve really enjoyed the unofficial and not so underground stuff like My David Cameron. If anyone can teach the big parties a thing or two about clear copy, it’s the creators of some of these gems.

Very early comments on the Guardian site suggest there is a big gap between fine art and graphic design when it comes to posters. My own take – unsurprisingly – is it comes down to the copy and the connection the copy has with the design. Hence my favourite of the lot is this one by Goshka Macuga. Clear, clever, totally connected to its purpose and comes with a back-story.

If you happen to be in Boston this summer, go and see this guy’s exhibition at the ICA. Jerónimo López Ramírez (aka Dr Lakra) is an artist and tattooist based in Mexico. I really like his process – the way he invalidates what he’s chosen to paint on and the slightly subverted tone. You can see a slideshow of some of his work here.